John Wesley Hall

John Wesley Hall is an accomplished criminal defense lawyer. His practice has concentrated on criminal cases since 1973, and he has literally tried every type of case from street crime to white collar crime to war crimes for mass murder in violation of the Geneva Convention. He has tried about 350 jury trials and handled over 350 appeals. His name and work appear over 800 times on Lexis in cases and law reviews.

A student of the Fourth Amendment (www.FourthAmendment.com) and law of legal ethics in criminal defense practice and prosecutorial misconduct for over 43 years, he has argued twice in the U.S. Supreme Court (Wilson v. Arkansas (1995) and Lockhart v. Nelson (1988)). He has authored numerous merits and amicus briefs in the Supreme Court for NACDL and others, and he has argued in five federal circuit courts and three other state high courts. He has made approximately 180 CLE presentations in 38 states, Canada and The Hague.

Legal Experience And Licenses

He was the 50th President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2008-09). He received NACDL's 22d Annual Robert D. Heeney Award for distinguished service to the criminal defense bar in 2002.

Hall is the author of four law treatises on criminal law and procedure and trial practice, among them: SEARCH AND SEIZURE (5th ed. 2013, Lexis), TRIAL HANDBOOK FOR ARKANSAS LAWYERS (5th ed. 2006, Thomson West) and PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN CRIMINAL DEFENSE PRACTICE (3d ed. 2005, Thomson West).

He is a fellow in the invitation-only American Board of Criminal Lawyers, peer review rated in The Best Lawyers in America (criminal defense and white collar criminal defense), AV rated* by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers. His Fourth Amendment blog, fourthamendment.com, was recognized in 2015 as one of the American Bar Association's top 100 legal blogs.

Before becoming a criminal defense lawyer, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Little Rock in the 1970s.

He is licensed in Arkansas (1973), the District of Columbia (1975), Tennessee (1988), Nevada (1993) and New York (1996). He is also licensed in the U.S. Supreme Court, five federal circuits, and numerous federal district courts. He has argued orally in four federal circuits, three other state high courts and twice in the U.S. Supreme Court.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingTM fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.